Tag: mathematics

Benjamin Banneker was born a free man in Maryland on November 9, 1731, and lived as a land-owning farmer of modest means. So, how did Benjamin Banneker become a historical figure? Banneker’s invention of the clock propelled his reputation.

Sometime in the early 1750s, Banneker borrowed a pocket watch from a wealthy acquaintance, took the watch apart, and studied its components and inner workings. He made a drawing of each component, then reassembled the watch and returned it, fully functioning, to its owner. From his drawings, Banneker then proceeded to carve, out of wood, enlarged replicas of each part. Calculating the proper number of teeth for each gear and the necessary relationships between the gears, he completed construction of a working wooden clock in 1753. The clock was amazingly precise. As the result of the attention his self-made clock received, Banneker was able to start up his own watch and clock repair business.

Banneker’s clock kept accurate time and struck the hours for over 50 years until it was destroyed along with most of Banneker’s other belongings in a mysterious house fire that took place on the day of Banneker’s funeral. Benjamin Banneker has been credited for making the first clock to be built completely in America.

An almanac is an annual publication that includes all sorts of important dates and statistical information such as astronomical data and tide tables. Flipping through an almanac, you’ll be amazed to find tons of interesting information, such as weather predictions, the best dates for planting crops, when the sun will rise and set, the dates of eclipses and the times of tides. Almanacs even include such miscellaneous information as world records, population statistics, recipes, holiday trivia and predictions about trends in fashion, food, home decoration, technology and lifestyle for the upcoming year.

The oldest almanac in North America — The Old Farmer’s Almanac — has been published annually since 1792. However, that wasn’t the only almanac printed in 1792. In that same year, Benjamin Banneker published his first of six annual Farmers’ Almanacs. Banneker’s almanacs included information on medicines and medical treatment, and listed tides, astronomical information, and eclipses, all calculated by Banneker himself.

Imagine: Nearly 100 years before Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Benjamin Banneker was publishing an almanac full of data and statistics based on his own calculations! Absolutely remarkable!!! Banneker’s Almanac’s were compared favorable with Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richards’s Almanac. However, in 1802 he stopped publishing his Almanac due to poor sales.

Banneker lived for four years after his almanacs discontinued. He published a treatise on bees, did a mathematical study on the cycle of the seventeen-year locust, and became a pamphleteer for the anti-slavery movement. He continued scientific studies by night and walked his land by day…keeping his garden along the way. He hosted many distinguished scientists and artists of his day, and his visitors commented on his intelligence and on his knowledge of everything of importance that was happening in the country. As always, he remained precise and reflective in his conversations with others.

His last walk (with a friend) came on October 9, 1806, when he complained of being ill and went home to rest on his couch. He died later that day.

Each year, during the week of November 9th, Americans celebrate “Benjamin Banneker Week” to honor the contributions of this great mathematician. For many students, mathematics is viewed as a faceless, and sometimes meaningless, subject, but learning more about the men and women who have shaped mathematics can inspire generations. Banneker is one such individual.

Born outside of Baltimore, Maryland on November 9, 1731, Benjamin Banneker was born a free black and was generally self-taught through most of his young adult life. Banneker began to display his brilliance as an engineer while he was a young man. First, he loved to solve puzzles and later he invented the the first (mathematically perfect) clock, which was made entirely of hand carved wooden parts. This clock kept accurate time for decades.

Banneker’s love for learning encouraged him to begin studying astronomy and advanced mathematics from sets of books loaned to him by a neighbor. As a result of these studies, he was able to predict solar and lunar eclipses and became the author of an internationally published almanac. Then, Banneker used his celebrity for the good of Black people: the international recognition of his almanac gave Banneker a platform to fight for the abolishment of slavery. He famously composed a letter addressed to Thomas Jefferson, in which he insisted black Americans possess the same intellectual ability and should be afforded the same opportunities as white Americans. This letter led to an ongoing correspondence between the two men, and led to Banneker receiving a considerable amount of support by abolitionist groups in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Banneker was also selected to assist Major Pierre L’Enfant to survey and develop the city plans for our nation’s capital, which was later named the District of Columbia. After L’Enfant abruptly quit the project, Benjamin Banneker was able to reproduce the plans – from memory – for the entire city in just 2 days. These plans provided the layout for the streets, buildings, and monuments that still exist in Washington D.C.

Visit the Benjamin Banneker Day website (www.benjaminbannekerday.weebly.com) to learn more about Benjamin Banneker, and how you and your family can participate in this year’s celebration.

All of the students who took the assessment will be accepted. Remember, the Math Institute is a separate program with an additional fee of $320 per year for NSBE Jr. of Southern California members and $350 for non-members. If you are interested in having your child attend the Math Institute, but have not taken the assessment, or if you have any additional questions, feel free to email Christine Wood.